Massage machine



' B. J. RUSSO MASSAGE MACHINE June 9, 1959 Filed Nov.

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 LFEIJ INVENTOR fifM/AMl V- 21/550 ATTORNEY June 9, 1959B. JQRUSSO 2,889,826

MASSAGE MACHINE ATTORNEY June 9, 1959 BfJ. RUSSO 2,889,826

' MASSAGE MACHINE Filed Nov. 26; 1957 s Sheets-Sheet s- INVENTORBfM/AM/A/ d 20560 ATTORNEY United States Patent MASSAGE MACHINE BenjaminJ. Russo, Collegeville, Pa.

Application November 26, 1957, Serial No. 699,044

9 'Claims. (Cl. 128-57) This invention relates to a massage machine, andit particularly relates to a massage machine for exercising a personsback muscles and stimulating the blood circulation.

it is one object of the present invention to provide a massage machinewhich can be used either by an attendant or by the person taking thetreatment.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a massage machinewhich is simple in construction and easy to use.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improvedmassage machine, of the character described, that is easily andeconomically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which ishighly eflicient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists inthe details of construction and combination of parts, as 'will be morefully understood from the following description, when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of adevice embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view taken on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a view taken on line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of amassage table which may be used withthe massage machine either when operated by an attendant or by theperson being treated, the table being shown partially exploded withseparable inserts in removed position.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings wherein similarreference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a massagemachine, generally designated 10, attached to a stand, generallydesignated 12, which, in turn, is connected to a table, generallydesignated 14.

The machine 10 comprises a track housing 16 on the top of which areprovided hangers 18. The hangers 18 are arranged in two pairs, one pairon each side of the track housing 16. Each pair of hangers 18 consistsof two aligned hangers, each having an opening 28 in alignment with asimilar opening 20 in the other. Each opening 20 is intersected by atop-opening, screw-threaded bore in which is positioned a set-screw 22having an operating handle 24. The aligned openings 20 of each pair ofhangers 18 are adapted to receive a prong 26 of a fork member 28extending from the stand 12. Each prong 26 is constructed in the form ofa cylindrical rod and is held in place in the hangers 18 by tighteningthe set-screws 22 into clamping position.

The track housing 16 is provided at its center and at each interior endwith a lower track 30, coinciding with the bottom wall of the trackhousing, and an upper track 32. On the exterior surface, at each end ofthe track housing 16, there is provided an elongated bracket 34depending to a position well below the track housing 16. At the lowerend of each bracket 34 is provided a bearing 'block 36 supporting thecorresponding offset end 38 of a rotatable driver rod 40. This rod 40extends from one end to the other of the machine, passing through avertically-elongated slot 42 on each of three, laterally-spaced,upstanding, mounting arms 44.

Each mounting arm 44 is provided 'at its lower end with a lowertransverse support arm 46 attached thereto by rivets or bolts 48. Asimilar upper support arm 50 is attached to the intermediate portion ofthe arms 44 by rivets or bolts 51. At the upper end of each arm 44 is aroller 52 movable on a track 53 in a track housing 54.

The three lower support arms 46 are connected to each other by a pair oftie rods 55, one at each end of the arms 46, while the upper supportarms 50 are similarly connected by a pair of tie rods 56.

At each end of each lower and upper support arm 46 and 50 is connected avertical roller support arm 58. Each arm 58 has an upper slot 60,elongated in the vertical direction, and a lower, similar slot 62. Theslots 60 receive the tie rods 56 which form a slidable connectionbetween the upper ends of the arms 58 and the support arms 50, while theslots 62 receive the tie rods 55 which form a similar slidableconnection between the lower ends of the arms 58 and the support.

arms 46. At their upper ends, the arms 58 are each provided with aroller 64 which moves within the track housing 16, while, at theirbottom ends, the arms 58 support a front and rear massage rollerassembly, the front assembly comprising an axle 66 upon which arepositioned a series of rubber wheels 68, and the rear assemblycomprising an axle 70 on which are positioned a series of rubber wheels72.

Each roller support arm 58 is biased upwardly by a spring 74 connectedbetween the upper tie rod 56 and a pin 76 on the arm 58. The pin 76 ateach end of the machine is provided with an extension on the oppositeside of the corresponding arm 58, this extension being indicated at 78.This pin extension 78 on each endwise positioned roller support arm 58is adapted to coact with a guide mechanism 80 to maintain the evenmovement of the arms and prevent jiggling or vibration.

The guide mechanism 84} comprises a pair of diagonal plates 82, eachplate 82 of the pair being extended in an opposite direction, as bestshown in Fig. 3. Each plate 82 is individually supported by a pair ofvertical frame members 84, one adjacent each end of each plate 82. Theseframe members 84 are connected, at their upper ends, to the bottom ofhousing 54. Depending from the underside of each inclined plate 82 are apair of links 86 and 88, best shown in Fig. 5. The link 86 is straightwhile the link 88 consists of two laterally oflset portions whereby theupper portion is positioned inwardly of the lower portion. This upperportion underlies the plate 82 and is spaced substantially inwardly ofthe corresponding edge of plate 82, while the lower portion ispositioned in substantially the same vertical plane as the edge of theplate 82. In this manner, an undercut channel or track is providedunderneath the plate 82.

Each link 86 and 83 is pivotally connected, as at 90 and 92respectively, to an upstanding arm, indicated at 94 and 96 respectively,extending up from the rear end of a bottom, horizontal plate 98. Theforward end of the plate 98 is provided with a narrow finger 100 whichis adapted to extend through a slot 102 in the forward, lower end ofinclined plate 82. The finger 100 is resiliently maintained in the slot102 by a coil spring 104 connected at its lower end to the free end ofthe finger Jill and at its upper end to one of the frame members 84-.

At one end of the machine, at the right as illustrated in Fig. 2, theoffset end 38 of the driver rod 40 extends through the bearing block 36,as at 106, and is connected to the hub 108 of a drive pulley 110. Thedrive pulley 110 is connected by a drive belt 112 to a motor pulley 114mounted on the motor shaft 116 of a motor 118 mounted on top of housing16.

The entire mechanism is mounted, as explained above, on the tines 28 ofa fork 26; these tines extending through the hangers 18. The tines 28are connected, at one end, to a cross-bar 120 mounted between a pair ofcollars 122. Each collar 122 is positioned on a post 124 and is providedwith a guide ring 126 spaced therefrom by a spacer plate 128.

At the center of the cross-bar 120 is provided a threaded openingthrough which extends a threaded jack member 130. This jack member 130is supported at its lower end 132 on a tie-bar 134 connected between thetwo posts 124 by bolts or the like 136. At its upper end, the jackmember 130 is provided with an operating handle 138.

The lower ends of the posts 124 are each integral with a lateral foot140. These feet 140 are adapted to be inserted into guide channels 142connected to the underside of the massage table 14.

In operation, the person who is to take the massage treatment, lies onthe table 14 and the handle 138 is operated to turn the jack member 130.This moves the cross-bar 120 down whereby it carries the machine 10 downinto position above the person on the table. The motor 118 is thenactivated to rotate the drive pulley 110. As the pulley 110 rotates, itrotates the offset end 38 of rod 40. The ofiset end 38 acts as a crankto rotate the rod in a circle having an axis corresponding to the axisof the portion 106 connected to the hub 108 of the drive pulley 110.Since the rod 40 extends through the elongated, vertical slot 42 in eacharm 44, it acts to first move these arms 44 in one horizontal direction,and then in the opposite horizontal direction. The arms 44 are guided inthis reciprocating, horizontal movement by the rollers 52 on their upperends which move on track 53 in housing 54.

As each of the arms 44 reciprocates back and forth, it carries alongwith it the attached pair of roller support arms 58. The rollers 64,during the reciprocation of the arms 58, move within the housing 16 asindicated in Fig. 1; that is, when the roller 64 on the right hand arm58 is moving on the corresponding upper track 32, the roller 64 on theleft is moving on the corresponding lower track 30. While the right handarm 58 is biased upwardly by its spring 74, the left hand arm 58 ismaintained in its lower position, against the force of its spring 74, bythe camming action of the track 32 above the corresponding roller 64.However, as soon as the left hand roller 64 clears the lower surface ofupper track 32, it is urged upwardly onto the upper surface of track 32by the spring 74 while, at the same time, the right hand roller 64 movesunder its upper track 32 and moves along lower track 30.

In order to maintain the reciprocating movements of the arms 58 instraight paths, each arm 58 is provided with the pin extension 78described above. In operation, using Figs. 1 and 3 as an example, as theright hand arm 58 moves to the left, the pin extension 78 moves underthe inclined plate 82 within the channel formed by the upper offsetportion of link 88. As the pin extension 78 moves to the lower end ofplate 82, it pushes between the plate 82 and the lower plate 98 and thenrides underneath plate 98 in the opposite direction as the reciprocatingmovement is reversed. In this reverse movement, the pin extension 78 isheld against the underside of the lower plate 98 by the biasing actionof the spring 74. While the right hand arm 58 and its associated partsare engaged in the above movements, the left hand arm 58 acts similarlybut in reverse direction in conjunction with its guide mechanism.

The above operation is described in relation to the use of an operator.However, the mechanism can also be used by the person taking thetreatment himself. This 4 is accomplished by removing the two removablecover plates 144 from the opening 146 in the table 14, and the stand 12is reversed so that the machine 10 extends upwardly with the frontmassage wheels 68 extending through one of the openings 146 while therear massage wheels 72 extends through the other opening 146.

Because neither the table nor the person being treated moves during thetreatment, this machine does not have any undesirable eifect on peoplesusceptible to motion sickness. The effect is similar to a hand massageand the same type of benefits are derived therefrom.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, suchdescription is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting,since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of theinvention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, whatis claimed is:

1. A massage mechanism comprising a front row of flexible Wheels and arear row of flexible wheels, each of said rows being connected tocorresponding front and rear support arms, said front support arms beingspaced from said rear support arms by transverse connecting arms, saidconnecting arms being mounted on a support for horizontal reciprocatingmovement relative to said support, actuating means operatively connectedto said connecting arms for reciprocating them, and means forreciprocating said front and rear support arms in vertical directionsalternately with each other as said connecting arms reciprocatehorizontally.

2. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein said means for reciprocating saidfront and rear support arms in vertical directions comprises a rollermounted on each of said support arms, said rollers being movable withina track housing, said track housing including an upper and lower trackfor each roller, resilient biasing means urging each of said supportarms upwardly to a position where its corresponding roller rides on itsupper track, and each lower track acting as a cam means to maintain thecorresponding roller on the lower track, spaces being provided at thesides of each upper track to permit the rollers to clear said uppertracks when they reach the edges thereof.

3. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein guide means are connected to saidsupport, said guide means being arranged to coact with a guide device oneach of said support arms to maintain the reciprocating movement of saidsupport arms in fixed paths.

4. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein each of said connecting arms isprovided with an upstanding arm having a roller at one end, the rolleron said upstanding arm being positioned on a track within a second trackhousing for reciprocating horizontal movement thereon.

5. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein said mechanism is releasablyconnected to a supporting stand, said mechanism being verticallyadjustable on said stand, and said stand being reversible into oppositevertical positions.

6. In a massage mechanism, a pair of massage-wheel support arms, each ofsaid support arms having a massage Wheel assembly mounted on its lowerend and a roller on its upper end, said pair of support arms beingspaced from each other by upper and lower transverse connecting arms,said connecting arms being connected to each of said support arms,intermediate the massage wheel assembly and the roller, by lost-motionconnections including elongated vertical slots, said connecting arms being fixed, intermediate their lengths, to an upstanding V mounting arm,said mounting arm having a roller thereon horizontally movable in afirst track housing, said support arms each having a roller at the upperend thereof, said last-mentioned rollers being movable in a second trackhousing having an upper and lower track for each of said last-mentionedrollers wherein said last-mentioned rollers are movable from said lowerto upper and back to said. lower tracks during horizontal reciprocationof said mounting arm, and actuating means to horizontally reciprocatesaid mounting arm.

7. The massage mechanism of claim 6 wherein each of said support arms isresiliently biased in the upward direction, and wherein a guide means ispositioned in operative position relative to said support arms, saidguide means comprising a pair of similar, oppositelyarranged, inclinedplates connected to straight, horizontal bottom plates, and each of saidsupport arms having a pin thereon in a position to move under thecorresponding inclined plate when the support arm is moving in onehorizontal direction and then to move in the opposite direction underthe corresponding bottom plate when the support arm is moving in theopposite horizontal direction.

8. In combination, a table, connecting means on said table forreleasably holding a stand, a stand connected to said connecting means,and a vertically adjustable massage mechanism releasably mounted on saidstand, said massage mechanism comprising a pair of trout and rearflexible massage wheel assemblies, and means to reciprocate said massagewheel assemblies in a horizontal direction while simultaneously movingthem in alternate vertical directions.

9. The combination of claim 8 wherein said table is provided withopenings and with removable cover plates on said openings, and whereinsaid stand is adapted to be held by said connecting means on said tablein two vertical1y-reversed positions, said massage wheel assembliesextending up through said openings when said stand is in one of saidpositions and when said cover plates are removed from said openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,204,624 Rupp June is, 1940 2,492,406 Thomas Dec. 27, 1949 2,534,587Fisher et a1. Dec. 19, 1950

